The federal government is proposing a variety of measures designed to improve the operation of the tax courts.
Proposals released Thursday by the Department of Finance seek to improve the caseload management of the Tax Court of Canada.
The proposed measures would raise the monetary limit for pursuing a tax appeal using an informal procedure from $12,000 to $25,000; or where a loss does not exceed $50,000 (up from $24,000). This would increase the use of the informal procedure, which is designed to reduce costs and delays. It’s also proposing amendments to limit examinations for discovery, in order to reduce the overall costs of litigation.
The government is also proposing to introduce a monetary limit for GST/HST appeals. Appeals involving amounts under $50,000 could use the informal procedure, where larger cases would be required to use the general procedure. This change is designed to achieve a better balance between general procedure and informal procedure caseloads, it says.
The proposals would also allow the Tax Court to dispose of issues raised in an appeal of an assessment separately, so that some issues can be resolved independently, and the decisions can take effect faster. They would also permit the Tax Court to hear a question affecting a group of two or more taxpayers that arises out of substantially similar transactions, and provide that the resulting decision is binding across the group.
Comments are due by December 16. Finance says that draft legislation may also be released during the consultation period.